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As the youngest home cook on the reality television series, the 22-year-old Oakville resident wanted to show he had what it takes to make it in a professional kitchen.

“I’m young and ambitious and I look at things differently,” Chong told the Oakville Beaver Thursday about what set him apart for his competition when he filmed the series last fall.

Having recently graduated with a Chemical Engineer degree from McMaster University in Hamilton, he said his background allowed him to plan quicker, and execute tasks more efficiently than others.

"I told my parents if I ever won the lottery I would like to pursue a future in cooking... but now after MasterChef, they’re super supportive and they believe I have the talent to actually make this my future and it’s pretty awesome. I get to do something I love everyday." - Eric Chong, Oakville resident

The show’s third episode airs this Sunday following NFL Super Bowl XLVIII on CTV and will re-broadcast in its original time slot Monday at 8 p.m.

Chong has made it to the Top 16 competitors from across Canada vying for the MasterChef title and a $100,000 cash prize.

In each episode, participants compete in individual and team-based cooking challenges, which result in one or more home cooks being eliminated from the series each week.

Although Chong knows how he fared in the competition since it was filmed last fall, he said he or other participants can't reveal the results of the show because of their contractual agreement with CTV.

What he can reveal however, is how the show has impacted his life.

Chong, a White Oaks Secondary School graduate, said appearing on the show has been a major turning point in his life.

Not only has it reaffirmed how serious his passion is for the culinary arts, but also it has given him — and his family — the confidence he needs to pursue it as a career.

“It was a game changer for me,” he said, noting how he was under constant pressure while on the show.

“It was probably the hardest thing I’ve done in my life,” Chong continued. “It was nerve-wrecking having so much on the line.”

He now works in the kitchen at the upscale Italian restaurant Buca in Toronto.

He said he was able to prove to his family cooking was an acceptable career choice.

“I told my parents if I ever won the lottery I would like to pursue a future in cooking... but now after MasterChef, they’re super supportive and they believe I have the talent to actually make this my future and it’s pretty awesome,” he said. “I get to do something I love everyday.”

Chong grew up with a passion for food, watching celebrity chefs like Gordon Ramsay on The Food Network. His grandfather, who was a restaurant chef, also inspired him and taught him some tips and tricks in the kitchen that he continues to use today.

During university, while he was living on his own, he also experimented with cooking. His signature dishes are pan seared duck breast with rice, red Thai curry sauce and homemade spring rolls.

He said his university degree has also played a part in developing his cooking skills.

“Engineering is a great foundation for anything. It’s pretty versatile in the ways you apply it,” he said. “The ways you look at a problem, you definitely go in with a plan and break things down in a different manner... It has helped me create more dishes and be more creative.”